How to Upcycle Gift Cards

We all get them—gift cards, that is—simply because it's the most-convenient present you can give someone you haven't melded minds with. So unless you've openly vocalized your disdain for what are essentially plastic disposables, chances are, you'll run through a gamut of hard plastic gift cards that most retailers tend to chuck in the trash afterward. Here's a tip, though: You can ask for them back.

One graphic designer decided to hack the cards she received into smaller mosaic-sized pieces she then pieced together by brushing on a layer of PVA glue. Stick a piece of cork behind the tiles and voila! instant coaster (And instant gift, if you're not afraid of being called chintzy.) ::Etsy